David Nason, New York – The Security Council has extended the UN presence in East Timor by implementing the mandate of the United Nations Office in Timor-Leste, which will operate until

Tony Hotland, Jakarta – The House of Representatives is well on its way to failing in its lawmaking function, with zero laws passed and only a few bills drafted since its 550 members to

Dean Yates and Achmad Sukarsono – Indonesia gave mixed signals on Wednesday about a visit by UN experts who will inquire into carnage that swept East Timor in 1999, with one minister ca

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – Two former military operations chiefs in Aceh received strategic posts in the latest military reshuffle, which affected several other high-ranking officers over

Jakarta – Observers cast doubt on Tuesday over the ability of the UN-sanctioned Commission of Experts (COE) to bring the perpetrators of the 1999 atrocities in East Timor to justice.

Agung Yudhawiranata, Jakarta – In an effort to stave off the creation of an ad hoc international rights tribunal to investigate the clearly orchestrated violence that accompanied the vo

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – Ahead of talks that it is hoped will seal an enduring peace in tsunami-devastated Aceh at the end of this month, a group of civilians born in Aceh will meet wit

Three members of the UN-sanctioned Commission of Experts (COE) are scheduled to arrive in Jakarta on May 20 to meet with legal people involved in the human rights tribunal for Indonesia

Dean Yates and Achmad Sukarsono, Jakarta – Indonesia on Wednesday labelled as "irrelevant" a visit by UN experts who will inquire into bloodshed that swept East Timor in 1999 during an

Meidyatama Suryodiningrat – This goes beyond a simple case of an "oddball" preacher in Malang leading prayers in Arabic and Bahasa Indonesia.

Jakarta – Only a week before representatives of the Indonesian government and the separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM) are to meet for peace talks in Helsinki, an Indonesian court on Wed

Bandar Lampung – Hundreds of journalists and activists rallied here on Monday to protest the use of Criminal Code to imprison two local tabloid editors for defamation recently.

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – General Elections Commission (KPU) chief Nazaruddin Sjamsuddin was once again dealt a body blow on Monday that should make it harder for him to prove his innoce

Ambon, Jakarta – Seven people, including five police officers, died during a predawn attack by unidentified gunmen in troubled Maluku province on Monday.

Jakarta – The draft revision of the Criminal Code has sparked new concerns about gender questions, specifically with regard to female and morality issues, a scholar said.

Bob Burton, Canberra – After eighteen months of often tense discussions, officials from the governments of Australia and East Timor reached an agreement last week on the division of rev

Shawn Donnan in Jakarta and Lachlan Colquhon in Sydney – East Timor's prime minister, Mari Alkatiri, warned on Tuesday that key details remained unresolved in the tiny nation's negotiat

Rendi A.

Jakarta – The reduction of Aceh's status from a state of civil emergency to one of a civil authority must be seized as an opportunity to further increase the involvement of civil societ

Agus Supriyanto, Jakarta – Non-government organisations from the Aceh Working Group (AWG) have welcomed the reduction of the state of civil emergency in Aceh to one of a civil authority

Suherdjoko and Nethy Dharma Somba, Semarang/Jayapura – Discontent with disciplinary actions taken against police officers involved in the violent handling of protesters in Papua, dozens

Jakarta – A splinter group of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) filed a police report against party leader Megawati Soekarnoputri on Monday for her dismissal of 12 PDI

Jakarta – What could be more ironic than being opposed by fellow women when one intends to defend women's rights in matrimony?

Tim Boreham and Karen Brown – East Timor will have to wait at least a decade to see any economic benefit from the Greater Sunrise gas field, with the $5 billion project slipping down th

Endy M. Bayuni, Jakarta – The ongoing corruption investigation into the General Election Commission (KPU) centers more on who among its members got how much money.

Merle Ricklefs – Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has just announced a new Coordinating Team for Corruption Eradication consisting of 51 prosecutors, police and financial o

Normalcy is a luxury for most Acehnese. Their province has practically been in a perpetual state of war for as long as most people can remember.

HT Lee – The weekend media faithfully reported the foreign minister's announcement on Friday that last week's Timor Sea talks in Sydney with East Timor had finished successfully.

John Roberts – The Australian and East Timorese governments agreed on April 29 to a new arrangement on the division of royalties from oil and gas projects in the Timor Sea.

Jakarta – Dubbed a country undergoing the transition to democracy, Indonesia still appears unable to make a clean break with the old perceptions that consider the ruler and symbols of t

Reuters in Meunasah Mesjid – Nestled between steep, forested hills and a white sandy beach, Meunasah Mesjid is one of Aceh's new bachelor villages after the December 26 tsunami, which k

Devi Asmarani, Jakarta – Getting massive amounts of aid money into the right hands in tsunami-hit Aceh and keeping it out of the wrong pockets is one of the biggest challenges facing th

Indonesia's high court has upheld a 2 1/2 year prison sentence for accused terror chief Abu Bakar Bashir for conspiracy in the 2002 Bali nightclub bombings, a court official said.

Tiarma Siboro and Hera Diani, Jakarta – A group of human rights activists and victims have published a book aimed at remembering the victims and recalling the terror that stalked Jakart

Jakarta – While many Indonesian businessmen wanted for graft find refuge in Singapore, the city state is a place of grief for some Indonesian migrant workers, a study says.

Jakarta – State Minister for State-Owned Enterprises Sugiharto said that Indonesian government has planned to increase its budget for Indonesian Military (TNI).

Nethy Dharma Somba and Suherdjoko, Jayapura/Semarang – Under mounting public pressure, Papua provincial police replaced on Friday another senior policeman held responsible for the shodd

Medan – Punishment in the form of public floggings (hukum cambuk) for Muslims who violate Islamic law in Aceh will soon be implemented.

Tiarma Siboro and Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – Critics questioned on Friday the government's failure to order the withdrawal of military troops from Aceh despite lifting the state

Nani Afrida, Banda Aceh – Thirty-four-year-old Maisarah Muharram M.

Seth Mydans – Withdrawing in humiliation in 1999 from the land they had occupied for 24 years, Indonesian soldiers scrawled angry graffiti that warned of poverty and hunger ahead.

Jayapura – A number of political parties in Papua have established a tariff for anyone wishing to nominate themselves as a regent, deputy-regent, mayor or deputy-mayor.

Tony Hotland, Jakarta – Noting a staggering Rp 8.82 trillion (US$929.32 million) missing from the 2003 state budget, the House of Representatives is likely to order the Supreme Audit Ag

Bill Guerin, Jakarta – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is facing demands to step up security in Indonesia's eastern island chain, the Malukus, or the "Spice Islands" to romantics, am

Doubts have been raised over whether Australia and East Timor have reached an agreement to carve up multi-billion dollar oil and gas reserves in the Timor Sea.

Syofiardi Bachyul Jb, Padang – A coalition of non-governmental organizations (NGO) has supported the Mentawai regent's decision to revoke 17 licenses for the right to undertake and prof

Dili – East Timorese Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri denied a report Friday that Dili and Canberra had reached a tentative agreement on the sharing of Timor Sea oil and natural gas revenue

Marian Wilkinson – A long-awaited controversial report on the Defence Intelligence Organisation outlining how officials cut off critical intelligence to Australian troops in East Timor

Australia and East Timor completed the latest, and possibly last, round of talks between officials on the split of royalties from oil and gas fields in the Timor Sea.

Neles Tebay, Rome – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is scheduled to visit the United States, the European Union (EU), and Japan.